A lovely morning of gardening and Julie's first Friday session at the Mulberry Tree Community Garden. Together with Markthey tackled completing a drip-feed watering system for the vertical strawberry bed. This should help with good strawberry harvests next year. Along with other volunteers we enjoyed a picnic lunch under the mulberry tree before departing in the early afternoon.

What a wonderful day at Mulberry Tree Community Garden!

I really enjoyed volunteering alongside Mark, Jo and the other lovely volunteers. We worked together to tidy up the garden, clear away weeds and old plants, and help with the composting area. Everyone was friendly, hardworking and happy to help each other.

After finishing our gardening work, we all sat together and enjoyed a delicious rice meal and some tea. The food was absolutely lovely, and it was so nice to relax, chat and share a meal with such wonderful people.

Before we left, everyone was kindly given a small bag of fresh herbs and greens to take home. It was such a thoughtful gesture and a lovely way to end the day.

For me, it was a truly enjoyable and memorable experience. I was very happy to contribute in whatever way I could and spend time with such a welcoming community.

A big thank you to Mark, Jo and everyone involved for their kindness and hard work!

If you have some free time, I would really encourage you to join activities like this. Even a little help can make a big difference.

Hope to see you all again soon! 🌱

Tonight's task was at a Hornsey Housing Trust location that was new to us. When Sarah checked the map she saw a good opportunity to shift the start location and run there via the Parkland Walk. She was joined my Goodgym Islington taskforce member Louis - who noticed the start location (technically in Islington) and decided he could make it along.

Right away, the pair left Islington and entered Finsbury Park - running 2km up the Parkland Walk to join Mark, who was waiting outside.

Inside, we met members of the scheme's gardening group. Storms Austen and Boelo had left a mess all over the lawn of the otherwise lovely communal garden. Our main job was to clear up as many of the fallen leaves and twigs as possible.

Pick up sticks

Armed with rakes, a hastily assembled broom and a large garden waste bin, the team quickly filled the bin, which was fortunately just the right size to contain all of the debris.

There was some more work to be done at the back of the garden, but residents were concerned for the safety of our intrepid trio and we agreed it might be best to leave that to a time with sunlight rather than torchlight. Hopefully we can be back soon, secateurs in hand!

A few good gym members came online to do some yoga.

Yoga talk

Get rid of the Fuzz
Dr Gil Hedley explains in his online talk that optimal health and physical comfort depend on moving at the start of the day. While muscles rest overnight, layers of connective tissue and fluid—affectionately called ‘fuzz’—accumulate between them. The urge to stretch on waking is largely a release of this fuzzy buildup. Without movement and stretching, the layer thickens, leading to stiffness, chronically ‘tight’ muscles, and common aches and pains.